Suntory Special Reserve 10yo - Sherry Finish 40% abv

The Special Reserve 10yo, which was married in sherry casks made its debut across Japan on September 9, 1998. Naturally both the malt and grain was matured for more than 10 years before the blending process began. After malt and grain merged, it was further married in toasted sherry casks. Suntory's original press release can be read (here). 

Nose: Mild effervescent orange and mellow Oloroso sherry. Reminiscent of a homemade sherry trifle: sliced jam roll cake lightly splashed with cream sherry, tinned fruit, and vanilla custard. It also transforms to steamed Christmas pudding: dried fruit and mixed peel (orange, lemon, apple). Fairy bread, weak icy pop liquid, strawberries and vanilla cream soft lollies, crushed coconut and cherries. Honey. Comes off as quite a sweet little number and it is - but in a very mellow manner.

Taste: Reasonably mild and smooth with burnt brown sugar and spiced toffee: (nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger). Charred casks are evident in the form of scorched prunes. A bit watery, grainy, and light to moderate sherry influence. Walnuts with hints of mellow vanilla spice. Water (literally a few drops) lifts the game and brings sweet aromas to the palate (following the nose) and again, lightly spiced musky prunes.

Finish: Walnuts and burnt brown sugar with a medium finish. Right at the back of the tongue lays a slight yeast bitterness.

Comment: Very enjoyable, a good session malt but Id prefer it to be much more richer on the sherry front when it comes to the palate. Nevertheless, a good "refresher" between malts that is way too easy to drink. No sherry monster but top nose!

A Taste of Japan Down Under

At Uncle Ming's, a bar "Down Under" on Sydney's energetic York Street, you can experience a little bit of Japan. The continent, and especially Sydney are crawling with bars that cater to the country's stereotypical drinking culture - but what makes Uncle Ming's more alluring than the flourish of other bars on every intersection? Its not about savvy architecture, glamorous interior (although the bar is decked out in attractive traditional Chinese interior design), or prime location. Nor is it about status - "The Bar To Be Seen In" (even though it is constantly packed). Simply, the bar is one of only a handful of establishments in Australia that I know of that stock an array of Japanese whiskies, which you'd struggle to find in any other bar in the area. As of writing the bar has fifty two Japanese expressions, and the range is always increasing (a shipment will in fact arrive this week according to staff).

Uncle Ming's opened in August 2012, and started out as a Chinese themed bar (hence the name) selling Tsingtao and bespoke cocktails served in elegant ceramic Chinese teapots. Sticking to this theme however meant the bar had limitations so over time it became more about celebrating Asian influence, and with a big emphasis on Japanese whisky. The transition was brought about by a local who began working at the establishment over a year ago, and at a time when there was only 4 Japanese whiskies at hand. The local: Flynn McLennan, found himself where he is today when he was in search of something independent from your commonplace speakeasy bars that liter the city and suburbs.

Flynn's position as Head Bartender and his taste for Japanese whisky is the blue print for today's Uncle Ming's. His own love of Japanese whisky actually began in Japan in a bar in Asakusa, so for him it made sense to focus on whiskies from Japanese distillers and expose his customers to the pleasures of local spirit. Flynn tells Whiskies R Us it's not easy for him to source unique whisky from Japan while living in Sydney, therefore at times he's physically made the trek to Japan to pick up some goodies for the bar... and his personal collection. The current line-up consists naturally of blends, pure malts, and malts (including single casks) from the distillery giants, as well as favourites from Chichibu, Hanyu, Karuizawa, and White Oak (Akashi). If your homesick for Japan and its whiskies (also beer/Sochu/Sake) you know where to call in. This place I presume will only get better. For an excellent description, along with basic info and address details take a look at Uncle Ming's Facebook page (here).

Images courtesy of the establishment

Suntory's Cask Collections Arrive in Europe

The Drinks Business yesterday (27th November, 2013) informed its subscribers of Suntory's limited edition release launch in Europe. The launch, which many have been hoping for consists of both the 2013 Yamazaki and Hakushu Cask Collections. According to the article the popular lineup debuted this week. The drinks trade publication notes that the exclusive availability of the 2013 collection in the European market corresponds with anniversaries of both distilleries. The 2013 Mizunara bottling from the collection unfortunately didn't hit the shelves in Japan this year, perhaps this was concerning volume and to make it available in other markets. For the full article written by Gabriel Savage take a look (here).

Image source kindly borrowed from The Drinks Business.

Chichibu Single Cask for TIBS - Whisky Live Tokyo 2013

Vintage: 2009 - Bottled: 2013 - Cask No. 422 - Cask type: First fill bourbon barrel - ABV: 61.8%

Nose: Initially you don't want to put your nose too far in the glass when first cracked - if you do your nostrils will take a beating. This needs to open up (15/20min). Forget your impressions (spirity) on the 1st and 2nd glass, don't let the small disappointment get in the way. Wait at least for the 4th glass: Spicy butterscotch pudding, tart crust (dough), peppered celery and bean sprouts, baked lemon peel, crushed vitamin C tablet, and chamomile. With water mild Fruit Loop cereal and mellow scented soap. Patience really is the key to this malt. At certain intervals and nosing angles I get lovely rich raspberry syrup when diluted and hints of fresh soft licorice. With the addition of extra water I get Butter-Menthols and flower boutique aromas along with pear drops.

Taste: Hard hitting spice - extremely tongue tingling with Sansho Japanese pepper, herbs, and mild jalapeno. Ginkgo nuts are emphasized with water. However, more water means more bitterness (grapefruit peel and green olives) followed by dryness. It does however mellow out those extreme spices. In my opinion water does not give this malt justice on the palate - it doesn't retain your typical sweetness that bourbon barrels often attribute, especially for a first fill. Youthfulness is evident. It's not rough but just not a lot happening regarding flavour profile. Where's the vanilla?

Finish: Lengthy on heavy spices (Sansho) that merge with candied grapefruit peel, hints of Butter-Menthols and green olives. Mouth numbing really.

Comment: I really do hope this will change. Like the rest of you I'm a big fan of Chichibu but if I must be completely honest this bottling didn't win me over, shame being a single cask. On a critical level its definitely not a favourite among my Chichibu collection - I expected a bit more given the price. Having said that this may be something that many of you love, certainly don't go on my opinion.

Note: Reasons why I let time go by before opening this was to see how many (if any) bottles actually got opened (excluding bars) and consumed instead of going straight to the resale market. Trawling the internet suggests not too many were cracked.

Chichibu's 7th Edition: On The Way

On Thursday 21 September, 2013 Venture Whisky announced to its distributors that the distillery's newest expression On The Way is available for order. This exciting news is certainly not hot of the press as lucky enthusiasts who attended The Tokyo Whisky Festival this year appeared to get a sneak peak of the latest bottling, also news of the release is already circulating on Chichibu's Facebook page and by various sources. This new release for the distillery's portfolio is quite a significant turning point as it marks Chichibu's fifth year in production (began in 2008). On The Way is theocratically a NAS (no age statement) whisky that is comprised of genshu malt from vintages 2008 to 2010, which includes a portion of malt laid down in 2008 and matured in Mizunara hogsheads, as well as a few bourbon barrels from "The Floor Malted" (2009/2010 batches). To make good use of the malt's characteristics the abv was settled at 58% and bottled naturally with no added colour and not chill-filtered.

This 7th edition has an outturn of 9,900 bottles making it more accessible than most expressions released to date, and it will be priced like the majority of Chichibu expressions at 8,500 yen (excluding tax). Some distributors and retailers may get their order in before others so it depends on where you shop as to when it will hit shelves - most likely at the beginning of next week. I can't think of a better Christmas gift!

Update November 27. 2013: Most distributors and retailers have now received their orders therefore, depending on where you shop the majority of major retailers should now have "On The Way" on their shelves. 

Photo kindly borrowed from the Chichibu Distillery Facebook page

Nikka: Long Lost Malts of the 80s

The 12 year old single malt "Hokkaido" (pictured bottom right corner of advertisement), which is now fairly rare to come across in Japan made its debut nationwide in the early 80s (around 83-84). The expression was released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Nikka Whisky Distilling Company (currently owned by Asahi Breweries). The bottling, which naturally contains 100% malt distilled at Yoichi is not only nostalgic but it retains an interesting story behind the actual bottle itself. 

According to Nikka the glass decanter for the 12yo Hokkaido single malt was originally designed and manufactured for another Nikka whisky brand however, that intended bottle didn't sell. It was here that Nikka decided to put the surplus to good use by bottling something "better"and "interesting" resulting in the above. The malt hit the market with a price tag of 12,000 yen (yearly limited release of 10,000 bottles), and it appears at the time of release it wasn't as popular as Nikka expected it to be - if only they knew how sought after it is today. 

The follow up to this expression using the same name and age statement respectively was a "pure malt" containing malt from both the Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries that is equally rarely seen in shops today. I secured, purchased, consumed, and reviewed (on paper) the Hokkaido 12yo pure malt but for reasons I don't know myself I never got around to posting it... unfortunately I cannot find my hand written notes therefore the only way I will be sharing my thoughts on this will be to buy another bottle. Until then take a look at two alternate reviews at Whisky Connosr (here) and The Japanese Whisky Review (here).

Taketsuru Pure Malt Sherry-Wood Finish 43% abv

Nose: Seductive and purely gorgeous. One of my top 3 sherry matured/finished malts for this year. Very alluring - or perhaps teasing with Ribena, Seville oranges, rich dark Christmas cake, grated coconut mixed with chopped cherry surrounded by dark chocolate, and rich runny honey. Then, hints of blueberry yogurt or is it boysenberry vanilla ice cream - both perhaps? Aromas continue to flourish with Pedro Ximenez sherry, cherry brandy with cola, and kirsch soaked raisins. Caramelized sugar is in plenty with vanilla confectionary, red toffee, and suggestions of apricots, sweet BBQ sauce, and nutmeg - definitely spurts of eggnog. A no-age with such complexity - I'm loving it!

Taste: Silky and elegant. Blood orange slices glazed with spiced honey. Cherry brandy, kirsch, spicy fruit mince pies, Dr.Pepper soft drink, ginger bread, cinnamon strawberry jam and coconut in bitter chocolate. Just like the nose there is an abundant profile on the palate: liqueur soaked raisins, raspberry cordial, maple syrup, red jelly beans, red toffee, and Pedro Ximenez sherry. 

Finish: Relatively long on honey glazed blood orange peel, bitter chocolate and spiced cherry.

Comment: Unfortunately this has long disappeared from shelves, even I cannot access another bottle, well if I want to pay double or triple the original price I can on the resale auction scene (outturn of 2,900 bottles). This stuff is too good to be true, the "finish" is truly amazing - the word "finish" is such an understatement. This does not taste like an adolescent whisky that has spent the last of its life briefly maturing in sherry casks...more like its spent the majority of maturation among them. Every glass gets better and better. This now takes my "best all-round cost performing whisky under 4,000 yen" award, and it truly leads among the no-age-statement (NAS) expressions. To those who are considering putting it on the resale market: do yourself a favour and drink it!